Photo courtesy of Solomon Ohkifoh

By Liam Verster

City Council Candidacy

Affordability, strong economy among key priorities for City Council candidate

Apr 26, 2021 | 1:56 PM

Solomon Okhifoh is running for Grande Prairie City Council in this fall’s election on a four pillar platform that involves creating a more affordable city; building a strong economy; making the city safer; and creating an integrated and inclusive community.

Okhifoh says through conversations with members of the public, he has heard that affordability, especially when it comes to property taxes, is a big issue in the City that needs to be addressed.

“We need to have a comprehensive study on this and get to ways that we can actually reduce our tax body so that we will be able to attract more people to come and live here.”

He says a review also needs to be done on the transit system to create a strategy that makes it more accessible and appealing to residents, which Okhifoh says will also lead to less people on the road. Okhifoh wants to do a similar review of the recreation opportunities in the area to find ways to make them more accessible and affordable.

He says both these plans could result in an up tick in users, meaning less subsidies from the City would be necessary.

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Also under his affordability pillar is tackling homelessness and affordable housing. He says a strategy should be developed to create more affordable housing for people to access, while also investing in purpose built shelters that have the resources necessary to address specific needs of people and help them get off the streets.

“You don’t use just one approach for everybody,” Okhifoh said. “Some people it’s mental health situations, some people it’s lack of skill, some other people it’s other things. So we need to get a study of what is really contributing to homelessness and then we’ll be able to solve it.”

The second pillar of Okhifoh’s platform is building a strong economy. He says Grande Prairie was built on the oil and gas sector, and the City needs to stand up and support the industry.

However, while there is a need to support this industry, Okhifoh says it’s also important to look forward and find ways to diversify and grow the economy.

He points to the provincial government’s plan to invest in petrochemicals, and says Grande Prairie should be involved in that program. He says the City also needs to find other programs or opportunities that would see existing sectors like forestry developed further in the area.

Okhifoh also says it’s important to support local businesses, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The third pillar in Okhifoh’s platform is creating a safe community. He says the City of Grande Prairie has recently been rated as one of the most dangerous places to live by Maclean’s magazine and he wants to work with the local RCMP and stakeholders to find out why that is, and implement changes to move the city off that list. He also wants to find ways to encourage residents and business owners to do what they can to protect their property for criminals, while also creating a comprehensive crime prevention strategy to stop crimes from happening in the first place.

The final part of of Okhifoh’s platform is creating a more inclusive and integrated community. He says this plan would help with crime reduction and prevention, as there could be more communication between residents about issues like suspicious individuals or activities in the neighbourhood.

Okhifoh is a resident of the City, but currently works for the County of Grande Prairie as a project manager. He says this work has provided him with experience in municipal politics and understanding the way of local governments operate.

He also says his current position has allowed him to make contacts within the County, and if elected, he could use those connections to bridge the gap between the City and County and work together on projects that benefit residents from both municipalities.

Okhifoh is also an engineer and is currently completing his masters in Public Administration, which he says allows him to understand the inner workings of government and how to solve problems in the community.

He adds he has also studied the policy side of government quite thoroughly, and can analyze plans put forward and understand what will and won’t work, and how to tweak ideas to make them more beneficial for the general public.

Okhifoh adds that municipal government is the level of government that most directly impacts residents, and he wants to make council more accessible and visible in the community so there can be more public interaction and engagement opportunities outside of the Council Chambers.